Basketball Australia today confirmed Opals star Lauren Jackson will indefinitely postpone her return to the Women’s National Basketball League pending further medical assessment.

Since returning to Australia last month, Lauren has undergone treatment for a chronic hamstring injury, which she acquired in June while playing with the Australian national team.

Lauren has returned to the Canberra Capitals practice environment, while also undergoing intensive rehabilitation for her injury – including an injection to relieve nerve pain, shooting sessions and on-court training.

While there has been some encouraging progress – including a positive reaction to the injection – Lauren is still experiencing nerve and muscle pain, particularly while running.

As such, Lauren’s AIS medical team and Capitals Doctor David Hughes have advised her to proceed with caution, and postpone her return to the WNBL pending ongoing medical assessment.

"I have full confidence in the medical and support team here,” Ms Jackson said.

“I'm glad the team having been playing well and I'm so disappointed I'm not out there with them. I'm doing all I can to get past this and on court.”

Basketball Australia Chief Executive Officer Kristina Keneally said: “Lauren is a huge asset to Australian basketball – clearly her health and well-being are top priority for all of us, now and into the future.

“We want to ensure her recovery is thorough and her return to the WNBL is sustainable, so we’ll absolutely be guided by the advice of her medical team as to when she should come back to the court.”

Basketball ACT Chief Executive Officer Tony Jackson said: “Lauren’s progress has been very encouraging, but it’s crucial that we take a cautious approach here.

“As I’ve said before, our top priority is Lauren’s welfare, so we’ll take every precautionary measure we need to in order to protect the longevity of her career.”